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On March 30, I enthusiastically supported the confirmation of Joanie Mahoney as Chair of the New York State Thruway Authority. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of working closely with Joanie in her capacity as Onondaga County Executive. She has demonstrated skill and leadership in a challenging environment as County Executive, and I believe she will be a great asset to the Thruway Authority. I commend Governor Cuomo for this excellent appointment, and I look forward to a continued positive relationship with County Executive Mahoney in her new role.

The Senate passed its one-house budget resolution this week, with my support. This resolution delivers for hardworking middle class families in Central New York and throughout the State while holding the line on spending. It provides additional funding for school districts, invests in upstate transit to prevent Centro service cuts, and provides property tax relief for homeowners. I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue the process with the goal of enacting an on-time, responsible budget.

Senator Valesky met two Onondaga Community College (OCC) students on March 9 who received the USA Today Phi Theta Kappa All-New York Academic Team Recognition for their academic excellence and community service. From left are OCC President Casey Crabill, Greg Freitag, Alena Cerro, and Sen. Valesky. Cerro is an electronic media communications major and vice president of public relations for the College’s Alpha Sigma Zeta chapter. Cerro also serves as an Honors Program Student Ambassador and Honors Program Committee Student Representative. She is an intern in OCC’s External Relations and Marketing New Media departments.

On Thursday, Feb. 19, we had a meeting at City Hall in Syracuse concerning CNY Centro. Centro is proposing service cuts to the Syracuse area. Local 580 is not in agreement with these cuts. We believe they should be adding services and hiring more drivers.

The Mission of CNYRTA is to provide services which are Safe, Convenient, Reliable and Environmentally responsible with a goal of maximizing the taxpayers return on investment. Cutting services does not meet these standards.

When state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) first joined the Independent Democratic Conference, a group of rogue Democrats in the state Senate, he praised the group for its ability to overcome partisan lines and get things done.

Now that Republicans have the majority in the upper chamber of the state Senate, he concedes “the jury might still be out” on whether the IDC remains relevant.

But he insists that the group is still relevant, saying that it continues to have a working relationship with the Republican conference and still has influence.

More than 260,000 older New Yorkers suffer from elder abuse every year. The most common form — financial abuse and exploitation — is growing at an alarming rate.

Not only does this heartless crime leave its victims in economic ruin and devastate families, but according to a preliminary finding of a pending report by the Office of Family and Children Services, its conservative impact on the state is $1.7 billion a year in costs for Adult Protective Services, police departments, courts, state Office for the Aging, and necessary new services like SNAP, Medicaid and Crime Victims Assistance.

WATERVILLE>> The Waterville Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution to freeze spending on Feb. 3.

In 2010-11, the Gap Elimination Adjustment cost the district $5.97 million in state funds. Since the 2007-08 school year, Waterville has seen a total aid loss of $15.23 million, putting the district in a difficult situation to plan for the future, said Superintendent Charles Chafee.

The downfall of State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has led to a call for new reforms in state government, a campaign that could lead to a budget impasse. As Bill Carey reports, lawmakers believe they can avoid a budget stalemate by reaching a deal with the governor before the April 1 deadline.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has been on the road to warn that timely budgets are less important than a trustworthy government in Albany.

The Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) has unveiled a comprehensive policy agenda that would include $10 million allocated specifically to Upstate New York for supportive housing development. Supportive housing models include inclusive design for those who may have physical impairments and often offer a variety of services including activities, transportation, an on-site service coordinator, amenities, meals, and support for residents’ health-related services. More information is available on my website.

New York State has launched a couple of new tools that will make finding information about tourism and tourism history easier than ever.

Thousands of NYS attractions and events, including Path through History and Taste NY locations, are now available at the touch of a button thanks to the new, free I LOVE NEW YORK mobile app launched in January to promote New York State tourism.

It was an honor last week to speak during the Senate Legislative Session about resolution J.276, remembering former Governor Mario M. Cuomo. Here’s the link to my comments.

Last Friday, I attended the launch of 2-1-1 CNY, which provides access to community information and referral services in Onondaga County by dialing 211 on a cell phone or by calling toll-free 1-844-445-1922. The 211 system helps residents locate basic resources such as food, shelter, employment, or health services by dialing a simple three-digit number. Visit the 2-1-1 website for more information.

SYRACUSE—State Senator David J. Valesky (D-Oneida) and the Independent Democratic Conference have unveiled a comprehensive policy agenda that would include $10 million allocated specifically to Upstate New York for supportive housing development.

Supportive housing models include inclusive design for those who may have physical impairments and often offer a variety of services including activities, transportation, an on-site service coordinator, amenities, meals, and support for residents’ health-related services.

Governor Cuomo said during a talk at NYU Law School Monday that he wouldn’t approve a budget without significant ethics reform. That package of bills would focus on disclosure of outside income for lawmakers, client information, and campaign finance reforms.

The package would be a large hurdle for Albany, with remnants of the latest corruption scandal still circling the halls of the state capitol.

By Tim Knauss on February 06, 2015 at 9:22 AM, updated February 06, 2015 at 9:25 AM

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Mayor Stephanie Miner said she will continue to seek state money to pay for new water mains in Syracuse, despite Gov. Andrew Cuomo's statement this week that the city should pay for pipes itself by invigorating the local economy.

State legislators from Central New York have promised Miner they will seek additional funding for Syracuse infrastructure in the next state budget, the mayor said Thursday.

Allowing the century-old water system to deteriorate further is not an option, she said.

By Teri Weaver on February 03, 2015 at 10:23 AM, updated February 04, 2015 at 2:27 PM

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Centro, last week, announced proposed cuts to late-night and weekend services to make up for a $4.5 million budget gap.

The proposals are preliminary.

But they are significant: Centro would end bus routes after 9 p.m. on weeknights, after 7 p.m. on Saturdays and all service on Sundays.

Centro officials are talking with state leaders about solutions to its budget woes to avoid the drastic changes and steer the bus authority onto better, long-term financial footing. Centro officials also have asked the public to weigh in.

By Tim Knauss on February 02, 2015 at 3:03 PM, updated February 02, 2015 at 3:33 PM

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Organizers of an electronics recycling event Saturday at the Syracuse DPW garage expected a big crowd, but they were shocked by how big it actually was. So many cars arrived loaded with old TVs, computers and other junk that Syracuse police were forced to close an exit ramp from Interstate 690 for four hours to prevent traffic from backing up on the highway.

Eight tractor-trailers were filled with estimated 100 tons of electronics during the event -- four times as much as was collected at a similar event in January 2014, said Cindy Jessop, of Sunnking Electronics Recycling, the company that recycles the items.

Colgate University is poised to prove that regional development can have an international reach.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, through his Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative, has awarded $750,000 to Colgate, supporting the university’s efforts to relocate the Picker Gallery of Art and the Longyear Museum of Anthropology from campus to the new Center for Art and Culture in the Village of Hamilton.

On February 6, Senator Valesky attended the launch of 2-1-1 CNY, which provides access to community information and referral services. This service is accessible in Onondaga County by dialing 211 on a cell phone or by calling toll-free 1-844-445-1922. Locating basic resources such as food, shelter, employment, or health care may mean calling dozens of phone numbers, then struggling through a maze of agencies and services to make the right connections. The 211 system helps residents find resources by dialing a simple three-digit number.